Commenting as the government announce that public sector workers including nurses and teachers will receive pay rises in the Spending Review, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“It is right that the government are abandoning their damaging public sector pay freeze. Teachers, along with nurses and other public sector workers, deserve a pay rise. Given predictions of at least 4% inflation within the next year, a pay freeze was simply an unsustainable position to maintain.

“It remains to be announced how much school staff might receive. It needs to be enough to begin to make up for the losses seen over the past decade. We have seen real terms pay cuts for teachers of up to 8%. This is contrast to 7.5% real terms growth in economy wide average earnings.

“The crucial detail now is whether or not the government will be giving schools the money to pay for the extra salaries. If schools have to cut elsewhere in their budgets to find the extra money they will be faced with heart breaking decisions.

“The Treasury should announce enough money for schools to properly pay their staff and give children the very best education. It shouldn’t be a choice.

“All teachers and leaders need a rise. If only teachers at the start of their careers see an increase it will only entrench the recruitment and retention issues for more experienced teachers and leaders. We need experienced teachers to step up to senior leadership and to help lead recovery for children and young people.

“The government has repeatedly constrained and ignored the School Teachers’ Review Body – this must end. The STRB must be able to do its work, free from government interference. The STRB understand the teaching workforce supply issues and once again this year asked government to allow it to review the pay structure for teachers and leaders, but was denied.

“We urgently need government to take the STRB’s warnings seriously and to act on them, to support the retention of experienced teachers and leaders, and to resolve the leadership supply crisis.”